Guardian Environment Network + Amazon rainforest | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/series/guardian-environment-network+amazon-rainforest
Indexen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2017Fri, 18 Aug 2017 05:06:41 GMT2017-08-18T05:06:41Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2017The Guardianhttps://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttps://www.theguardian.com
Amazon could face intense wildfire season this year, Nasa warnshttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/18/amazon-could-face-intense-wildfire-season-this-year-nasa-warns
<p>The Amazon is the driest it has been at the start of the dry season since 2002 — and that probably means the rainforest is in for a particularly nasty wildfire season, <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/07/nasa-images-show-the-amazon-could-be-facing-an-intense-wildfire-season-this-year/">reports Mongabay</a></p><p>Conditions created by the strong El Niño event that warmed up Pacific waters in 2015 and early 2016 altered rainfall patterns around the world. In the Amazon basin, that meant reduced rainfall during the wet season, plunging some parts of the region into severe drought.</p><p>According to <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=88308&amp;src=eoa-iotd">NASA</a>, the Amazon is the driest it’s been at the start of the dry season since 2002 — and that probably means the rainforest is in for a particularly nasty wildfire season, according to Doug Morton, an Earth scientist with the U.S. agency and a co-creator of the <a href="http://www.ess.uci.edu/~amazonfirerisk/ForecastWeb/SAMFSS2016.html">Amazon fire forecast</a>, which uses climate observations and active fire detections by NASA satellites to predict fire season severity.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/18/amazon-could-face-intense-wildfire-season-this-year-nasa-warns">Continue reading...</a>Amazon rainforestWildfiresDroughtBrazilAmericasEnvironmentNatural disasters and extreme weatherTrees and forestsWorld newsMon, 18 Jul 2016 09:19:26 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/18/amazon-could-face-intense-wildfire-season-this-year-nasa-warnsPhotograph: Paulo Whitaker/REUTERSPhotograph: Paulo Whitaker/REUTERSMike Gaworecki for Mongabay, part of the Guardian Environment Network2016-07-18T09:19:26ZBrazil’s illegal loggers downscale to avoid satellite detectionhttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/aug/21/brazils-illegal-loggers-downscale-to-avoid-satellite-detection
<p>Hard-to-detect small-scale clearance of Amazon rainforest makes up half of country’s deforestation rate, says study. <a href="http://www.rtcc.org/2015/08/20/brazils-satellite-dodging-loggers-recast-deforestation-fight/#sthash.bUKz72GV.TntMJndu.dpuf">RTCC reports</a></p><p>Brazil’s drive to nip illicit tree-felling in the bud has shifted the nature of the problem, according to researchers.</p><p>Small-scale illegal logging is – proportionally speaking – on the rise, says a <a href="http://climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/strengthening-brazils-forest-protection-in-a-changing-landscape/">report</a> by the Climate Policy Initiative and the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/aug/21/brazils-illegal-loggers-downscale-to-avoid-satellite-detection">Continue reading...</a>DeforestationBrazilAmazon rainforestConservationTrees and forestsEnvironmentAmericasWorld newsFri, 21 Aug 2015 12:11:46 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/aug/21/brazils-illegal-loggers-downscale-to-avoid-satellite-detectionPhotograph: Nacho Doce/ReutersPhotograph: Nacho Doce/ReutersAlex Pashley for RTCC, part of the Guardian Environment Network2015-08-21T12:11:46ZGold miners invade Amazonian indigenous reservehttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/17/gold-miners-invade-amazonian-indigenous-reserve
<p>Analysis of satellite images reveal penetration in protected area and large-scale clearing of buffer zone, reports <a href="http://www.mongabay.com/">Mongabay</a></p><p>Illegal miners have invaded an indigenous reserve in the Peruvian Amazon, reveals new analysis of satellite imagery.</p><p>The research, published by the Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP), shows that small-scale miners have penetrated the Amarakaeri communal reserve, a protected area co-managed by Peru’s parks authority (Sernanp) and the Harakmbut, Yine and Machiguenga indigenous peoples. While only 26 acres of the reserve have been stripped of trees, large-scale clearing of the reserve’s buffer zone suggests there is reason for concern. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/17/gold-miners-invade-amazonian-indigenous-reserve">Continue reading...</a>EnvironmentAmazon rainforestDeforestationTrees and forestsPeruIndigenous peoplesAmericasWorld newsMiningWed, 17 Jun 2015 12:04:34 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/17/gold-miners-invade-amazonian-indigenous-reservePhotograph: Rodrigo Abd/APPhotograph: Rodrigo Abd/APRhett A Butler, for Mongabay, part of the Guardian Environment Network2015-06-17T12:04:34ZWhy I let myself be 'Eaten Alive' by an anacondahttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/23/why-i-let-myself-be-eaten-alive-by-an-anaconda
<p>Naturalist Paul Rosolie explains what he learned from the Discovery Channel’s controversial show – and the sinking sensation he felt on seeing the final cut</p><p>On November 3, 2014, I woke up to check my flight status from Bangalore to New York. What I found when I opened my laptop was a mindboggling amount of emails, hate mail, death threats, and interview requests. The numbers were staggering. The night before, during Nick Wallenda’s tight-rope special on the Discovery Channel, the network had aired the first trailers for the show they decided to call Eaten Alive. </p><p>I was grimly amused to see that the commercial made it look like I had actually been eaten by an anaconda. This naturally sparked a litany of fictitious headlines. Some said we had killed the snake during filming, while others claimed the stunt would be a live event. One Indian newspaper apparently reported that I’d been inside the anaconda’s stomach for 28 days! The media had been eaten alive by speculation. As you probably know, reactions to the show got even bigger from there. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/23/why-i-let-myself-be-eaten-alive-by-an-anaconda">Continue reading...</a>EnvironmentWildlifeConservationSnakesPeruWorld newsDiscovery CommunicationsMediaAmazon rainforestMiningTrees and forestsDeforestationBiodiversityTue, 23 Dec 2014 14:37:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/23/why-i-let-myself-be-eaten-alive-by-an-anacondaPhotograph: Mohsin Kazmi/APPhotograph: Mohsin Kazmi/APPaul Rosolie for Mongabay, part of the Guardian Environment Network2014-12-23T14:37:06ZDrought bites as Amazon’s ‘flying rivers’ dry uphttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/sep/15/drought-bites-as-amazons-flying-rivers-dry-up
<p>Scientists say deforestation and climate change responsible for forests not producing vapour clouds that bring rain to Brazil, reports <a href="http://www.climatenewsnetwork.net/">Climate News Network</a></p><p>The unprecedented drought now affecting São Paulo, South America’s giant metropolis, is believed to be caused by the absence of the “flying rivers” − the vapour clouds from the Amazon that normally bring rain to the centre and south of Brazil.</p><p>Some Brazilian scientists say the absence of rain that has dried up rivers and reservoirs in central and southeast Brazil is not just a quirk of nature, but a change brought about by a combination of the continuing deforestation of the Amazon and global warming.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/sep/15/drought-bites-as-amazons-flying-rivers-dry-up">Continue reading...</a>Amazon rainforestDeforestationTrees and forestsConservationDroughtEnvironmentBrazilAmericasMon, 15 Sep 2014 11:52:26 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/sep/15/drought-bites-as-amazons-flying-rivers-dry-upPhotograph: Fernanda Preto/Getty ImagesClouds reflecting in a river in Amazon near Manaus, Brazil.Photograph: Fernanda Preto/Getty ImagesClouds reflecting in a river in Amazon near Manaus, Brazil.Jan Rocha for Climate News Network, part of the Guardian Environment Network2014-09-15T11:52:26ZNew species of tapir discovered in south-west Amazonhttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/dec/17/new-species-tapir-discovered
<em>Tapirus kabomani</em> was hidden from science but known to local indigenous tribes in Brazil and Colombia<p>In what will likely be considered one of the biggest (literally) zoological discoveries of the 21st century, scientists today announced they have discovered a new species of tapir in Brazil and Colombia. The new mammal, hidden from science but known to local indigenous tribes, is actually one of the biggest animals on the continent, although it's still the smallest living tapir. Described in the Journal of Mammology, the scientists have named the new tapir <em>Tapirus kabomani</em> after the name for "tapir" in the local Paumari language: "Arabo kabomani."</p><p><em>Tapirus kabomani</em>, or the Kobomani tapir, is the fifth tapir found in the world and the first to be discovered since 1865. It is also the first mammal in the order Perissodactyla (which includes tapirs, rhinos, and horses) found in over a hundred years. Moreover, this is the largest land mammal to be uncovered in decades: in 1992 scientists discovered the saola in Vietnam and Cambodia, a rainforest bovine that is about the same size as the new tapir.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/dec/17/new-species-tapir-discovered">Continue reading...</a>WildlifeBrazilColombiaEnvironmentAmazon rainforestTue, 17 Dec 2013 16:30:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/dec/17/new-species-tapir-discoveredPhotograph: PRScientists have uncovered a new tapir in Brazil. Photograph: Cozzuol et alPhotograph: PRScientists have uncovered a new tapir in Brazil. Photograph: Cozzuol et alJeremy Hance for Mongabay, part of the Guardian Environment Network2013-12-17T16:30:00ZRainforest activist asks for protection after death threatshttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/aug/31/rainforest-activists-protection-death-threats
Rubber tapper Belmiro dos Santos fears for his life after death threats because of his efforts to prevent the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest<p>Raimundo Francisco Belmiro dos Santos, a defender of the Amazon jungle, has requested urgent protection from the authorities in Brazil after reporting that a number of hired gunmen are looking for him, because landowners in the northern state of Pará have offered a 50,000 dollar contract for his death.</p><p>Belmiro dos Santos is a 46-year-old "seringueiro" or rubber tapper who fears for his life and the lives of his family, after receiving numerous threats for his activism against the destruction of the Amazon jungle.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/aug/31/rainforest-activists-protection-death-threats">Continue reading...</a>Amazon rainforestEnvironmental activismDeforestationTrees and forestsEnvironmentWed, 31 Aug 2011 10:24:30 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/aug/31/rainforest-activists-protection-death-threatsPhotograph: ReutersAmazon activists Dorothy Stang, a 73-year-old nun, was murdered in 2005. In May activists José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva and Maria do Espírito Santo were also assassinated. Photograph: ReutersPhotograph: ReutersAmazon activists Dorothy Stang, a 73-year-old nun, was murdered in 2005. In May activists José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva and Maria do Espírito Santo were also assassinated. Photograph: ReutersFabíola Ortiz in Rio de Janeiro for IPS, part of the Guardian Environment Network2011-08-31T10:24:30ZAmazon facing new threat: Agent Orangehttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jul/14/amazon-rainforest-forests
<a href="http://www.earthisland.org/journal/">Earth Island Journal</a>: Ranchers are clearing the rainforest with Agent Orange, says Brazil's environmental agency<p>Agent Orange was as deadly as guns in the Vietnam War, killing or injuring an estimated 400,000 people. Decades later, the herbicide is being used to kill again — this time, on the Amazon rainforest.</p><p>In recent weeks, authorities have discovered ranchers spraying the highly-toxic chemical on sections of the forest in an attempt to clear the land without officials noticing. The herbicide is much harder to detect than traditional methods of deforestation, which usually involve less stealthy tools like tractors and chainsaws.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jul/14/amazon-rainforest-forests">Continue reading...</a>Amazon rainforestTrees and forestsDeforestationThu, 14 Jul 2011 13:20:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jul/14/amazon-rainforest-forestsPhotograph: Bruno Domingos/ReutersAn aerial view of cleared rainforest in the Amazon basin. Photograph: Bruno Domingos/ReutersPhotograph: Bruno Domingos/ReutersAn aerial view of cleared rainforest in the Amazon basin. Photograph: Bruno Domingos/ReutersClaire Perlman for Earth Island Journal2011-07-14T13:20:00ZBrazilian government claims only a 'small minority' oppose Belo Monte damhttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/feb/18/brazil-belo-monte-dam
Fighting back the avalanche of criticism against the powerplant in the Amazon, the President of the Brazilian public power company declares the enterprise has the support of the people<p>The President of the Brazilian public company EPE (Energy Research Company), Maurício Tolmasquim, declared this Thursday that just a "small minority that does not accept any form of hydroelectric power," is against the building of Belo Monte. The declaration was given in an interview over the phone to the international press, after a few days of protests against the major enterprise stopped Brasília.</p><p>EPE is the public company responsible for the planning of the projects for generation of electric power in Brazil. Tolmasquim was designated by the government to interface with the press after an avalanche of criticisms made against the hydroelectric powerplant since early January, when the license for its building was granted by IBAMA, the federal government's environmental agency.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/feb/18/brazil-belo-monte-dam">Continue reading...</a>Wave and tidal powerEnergyEnvironmentBrazilWorld newsAmazon rainforestFri, 18 Feb 2011 17:03:12 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/feb/18/brazil-belo-monte-damPhotograph: Antonio Scorza/AFP/Getty ImagesThe region along the Xingu river which will be affected by the Belo Monte dam. Photograph: Antonio Scorza/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Antonio Scorza/AFP/Getty ImagesThe region along the Xingu river which will be affected by the Belo Monte dam. Photograph: Antonio Scorza/AFP/Getty ImagesGustavo Faleiros for O Eco Amazonia2011-02-18T17:03:12ZAmazon set for second hydrocarbon boomhttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/feb/17/amazon-hydrocarbon-boom
The Peruvian Amazon is in the early stages of a second hydrocarbon boom, which could have damaging effects on biodiversity and indigenous people, according to researchers from the US and Spain. From <a href="http://environmentalresearchweb.org/cws/home">Environmentalresearchweb</a>, part of the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/network">Guardian Environment Network</a><p>The Peruvian Amazon is in the early stages of a second hydrocarbon boom, which could have damaging effects on biodiversity and indigenous people. That's according to researchers from the US and Spain, who are the first to plot historical trends in oil and gas exploration and extraction in the forest.</p><p>"We found that more of the Peruvian Amazon has recently been leased to oil and gas companies than at any other time on record," Matt Finer of Save America's Forests, US, told environmentalresearchweb. "In 2007, nearly half of the Peruvian Amazon was in the hands of trans-national energy companies, up from just 7% four years earlier. At this moment, there are 52 active hydrocarbon concessions, a great majority of which overlap titled indigenous peoples' lands and natural protected areas."</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/feb/17/amazon-hydrocarbon-boom">Continue reading...</a>OilDeforestationEnvironmentAmazon rainforestFri, 19 Feb 2010 09:51:45 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/feb/17/amazon-hydrocarbon-boomLiz Kalaugher for Environmentalresearchweb, part of the Guardian Environment Network2010-02-19T09:51:45Z